Charles Frederick Whittlesey (1867–1941) was an American architect best known for his work in the American southwest, and for pioneering work in reinforced concrete in California.
Life
Born in Alton, Illinois, Whittlesey was a draftsman for Louis Sullivan before opening his own Chicago practice.[1] Many of Whittlesey's major commissions show Sullivan's influence.
Whittlesey moved to San Francisco in 1907 and worked mainly there and in Los Angeles, becoming known for his early work in reinforced concrete.
Whittlesey's son Austin C. Whittlesey (1893–1950) was also an architect, apprenticed in the office of Bertram Goodhue for seven years, and was active in Southern California in the 1930s. While working as staff designer for Allison & Allison he designed the 1930 Southern California Edison Building, across the street from Goodhue's L.A. Public Library. His daughter, Enid Caroline Whittlesey (1895–1981), was murdered in Los Angeles; the cold case investigation was featured on the TV series Forensic Files (Season 7, episode 32).
Santa Fe railroad depot Shawnee, Oklahoma. Built in 1904, the building is made of limestone blocks two to three feet thick, and assembled in the Romanesque revival style. The depot's floor plan is based on the style of early European churches. A tower resembling a Scottish lighthouse rises up from the east side of a multi-arched portico. The beautiful ceilings of the depot are made of stained boxcar siding. The structure was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 1977, it was traded to the City of Shawnee and is now open to the public as the Historical Society of Pottawatomie County.[6]
Clune's Auditorium, Los Angeles, 1905–06, billed as the largest reinforced concrete structure in California,[8] later redubbed the Philharmonic Auditorium. The auditorium "exhibited some of the most enthusiastic Sullivanesque ornament to be found in Southern California."[9] This Moorish Revival building, described as "one of the most beautiful buildings in Los Angeles" was demolished in 1985. The site is now (2012) a parking lot.[10]
The Leiman House on Euclid Avenue, Berkeley, California, 1921. Originally built as a side-by-side duplex home, it was converted to a single family in the 1980s by E. Lofting, then converted back to a duplex in 2011
El Rey Hotel, Los Angeles, 1923
the Moorish-influenced Mayflower Hotel, Los Angeles, 1927
Gallery
Alvarado Hotel, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Santa Fe Depot, Shawnee, Oklahoma
El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Hotel Hayward, Los Angeles, California
Lycurgus Lindsay House, Los Angeles, California
References
^"PCAD - the Pacific Coast Architecture Database - Home". Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
^Poling-Kempes, Lesley, The Harvey Girls Marlowe and Company, New York, 1989 p. 157
^Berke, Arnold, Mary Coulter: Architect of the Southwest, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2002 p, 55
^"The Whittlesey House - Planning Department - City of Albuquerque". Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
^"Whittlesey House Preservation Foundation - Albuquerque Press Club". Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
^"Pottawatomie County Museum". Archived from the original on 2015-05-09. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
^* El Tovar Hotel, 167-168
^"PCAD - the Pacific Coast Architecture Database - Home". Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
^Gebhard and Winter, A Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles & Southern California, Peregrine Press Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, 1977, p. 211
^McGrew and Julian, Landmarks of Los Angeles, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., NY, 1994 p. 65
^Moore, Becker and Campbell, The City Observed: Los Angeles, Vintage Books, New York, 1984, P336-337
^Gebhard and Winter, ‘’A Guide to Architecture in San Francisco and Northern California’’, Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City, UT, 1985 p. 80
^Corbet, Michael, "Splendid Survivors: San Francisco's Downtown Architectural Heritage", The Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage, San Francisco, CA 1979 p. 222
^Woodbridge, Sally B. and John M. Woodbridge, ‘’’Architecture’ San Francisco, the guide’’, American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter, San Francisco, CA, 1982 p. 58-59
^"Russian Hill Neighbors". Archived from the original on 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
^Gebhard and Winter, ‘’A Guide to Architecture in San Francisco and Northern California’’, Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City, UT, 1985 p, 162